


Keys to Strings

by oceanicmars



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Other, Slow Burn, and also uhh to give insight, but characters and relationships will always update when i introduce whatever the thing is!!, everyone plays an insturment in college, riku has an illness called bronchiectasis, uhh so I don't do like proper tags half the time whoops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 17:01:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15755997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oceanicmars/pseuds/oceanicmars
Summary: A story of beginnings, and perhaps some endings, Riku is a violinist who'd given up on his dreams, only for his childhood best friend and pianist Sora to reignite them. His keys to Riku's strings; a duet only the two of them can play for their hearts are one.--- --- ---a college au where everyone's a musician and riku is head over heels for sora but has anxiety... oh, and he has a service dog named wingus.





	Keys to Strings

Summer was a cruel season. It often harmed everyone it touched; burning them, blinding them. It was a slow, yet passionate season; a season of beginnings and farewells.

So why was it when Riku thought of summer, he thought of  _ him _ ?

The seabreeze surrounds him, and slowly, he breathes it all in, allowing it to fill what felt like his rotting lungs. Compared to the hospital, this was heaven. Salt tickling his tongue, the humid air dancing on his skin... He missed this freedom, and oh, how pitiful was it that he also couldn’t help but dread this freedom.

 

It was ten years ago, though it felt like it’d been longer. Time ceases when all you hear is the beeping of monitors and chatter of strangers he’d never get to know so long as they continued to pass him around from hospital to hospital. There was no life, no music in those buildings. Or, at least, there never was any of those things during Riku’s stay.

Why is it now when he should be moving on to the next chapter of his life, he hesitates? He can’t help but think back to that day, ten years ago. The same seabreeze filling his lungs, overwhelming him and choking him as he screamed his heart out. Those bitter tears streaming from his eyes and mixing with that scent, creating an remorseful tight clutch around his heart that had left their scars, never to fade. But these scars were not for him, no, they were scars knowing he had been  _ wrong _ . How he had hurt himself by hurting him, unfairly, horridly. 

Taking a deep breath in, he sighs. As the waves crash up onto the shore before him, he can’t help but look out past the horizon, and wonder if he could just become a part of this breeze; fly far, far away from it all, begin anew...

Nostalgic laughter fills his head. He recalls how many freckles were on his face, how he always smiled so ridiculously to make him laugh. His bright blue eyes shining as he showed Riku another composition, another duet. How tightly he held the other’s hand when they were together, how his hands glided over the piano keys to show Riku what he learned.

He remembers the heartbroken look he was given when he unfairly lashed out at him ten years ago on this very beach.

 

“... He probably isn’t even here anymore,” Riku can’t help but murmur to himself, “He went to some college, like his parents wanted. Or he found another pianist and is traveling, like he wanted. Or he—“

“Or,” he hears, and turns to watch as the redhead before him walks up beside him, hands behind her back as she smiles, “You could stop thinking about the what if’s, and let me tell you where he is?”

“No. I don’t… I can’t see him. Not now. Not…”

“Ever?”

“I mean, I _plan_ to see him eventually.”

“You’re  _ acting  _ like you won’t though. You’ve been gone for like, ten years. Things changed. I think you’d be surprised at how we all grew up.”

He snorts, “ _ You _ grew up? I couldn’t tell.”

She punches him lightly on the arm, and he laughs, “Hey, watch it. I just got better, and you wanna send me back already?”

“Maybe, but I haven’t heard of there being a cure for rude punks like you just yet.”

“And for you?”

“I’m an enigma. The government were go bankrupt trying to figure out my brain!”

 

The two end up laughing, the gentle roar of the waves mixing in as the sun beat down on them. When the laughter dies down, her face softens, and she looks at Riku with gentle eyes.

“He wants to see you, y’know. He asks me about you everyday if he knows I wrote to you.”

“I don’t think I can go see him just yet. I don’t have a proper apology--”

“You were in and out of different hospitals for ten years and you  _ never  _ thought of one?”

“I thought of many, but I never could come up with the right one. I was unfair and took everything out on him. I feel like I ruined his dreams.”

“Riku, you were like, ten. Kids are dumb.”

“But I had to be the smarter one for him.”

Kairi sighs, and looks back out to the sea, “Well, I hope you figure it out, not for your sake though. Ooh no, he deserves to at least know you’re attending college here, that you’re staying here permanently--”

“For now,” Riku corrects, “I still have to go back to the hospital every so often, but mom agreed that I wouldn’t be home schooled anymore.”

 

“... Do you still wanna be a violinist?”

Riku now looks away, out at the horizon, “I don’t know.”

“That was your dream, Riku, yours _and_ his! If not that, then what are you going to do?”

He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath in to calm himself. He slowly breathes out, “I don’t know, but that’s why I want time to myself to figure it out.”

"Is  _ that  _ why you don’t want to see him?”

“It’s a lot of things, Kairi.”

“Well,” she places a hand on his arm, smiling, “I’m here for you, but if you make Sora cry again, I’ll kick your butt and send you to the hospital for something other than bron… bronchi…”

“Bronchiectasis?”

“ _ Exactly _ .”

He chuckles, “I would hope so.”

 

The waves crashed loudly onto the shore. If only they could take the pain with them back to the depths of the ocean.

* * *

 

“You sure you’re gonna be okay honey?” 

“Yes mom,” Riku moves another box to the corner, “I’m pretty sure.”

“The hospital is twenty minutes away from campus by car, you  _ swear  _ someone can take you for your checkups and treatments?”

“Kairi said she can drive me until we get my license, and I can always use a lyft.”

“And what about Sora, can he--”

“Mom, I really want to unpack and get settled so I can relax. Can we talk tomorrow?”

“Oh! Of, of course honey, you know how I am, so fussy, I’ll leave you to it, okay? I love you sweetie, call me if you need anything, I’ll drop everything--”

“Yeah, love you too mom, please don’t overwork yourself. I’m hanging up now.”

 

And so he did. Placing his phone back into his pocket, he moved another box to the corner. He had finally gotten everything to his dorm room, said goodbye to his mother in person, and literal minutes later she calls. Riku couldn’t really blame her, but at the same time, he was an adult now, almost twenty one. He could handle himself. 

“That said,” he murmurs aloud, “I have no clue where to really start.”

It’s not like he had a lot to unpack. But with the school semester starting tomorrow, he really shouldn’t feel this unprepared. He knows he sent the email to his professors regarding his illness and his therapy dog, he has basic supplies for the day, he has his medications…

“Guess it’s cause I haven’t gone to school in ten years,” he says to himself, “Damn.”

At that moment, his therapy dog, an absolute sweetheart of a german sherpard, whined loudly, bumping his head into Riku’s knee. He chuckles, and pets it’s head.

“I’m okay Wingus,” he murmurs, “I got you after all, don’t I?”

 

After the intense first year of dealing with his illness, his mother had gotten him Wingus. He really doesn’t know why he named him Wingus, but it stuck, and that was that. His sole companion during those awful years, as his single mother worked day and night to pay for his hospital bills, Wingus was home. So long as he had him, he was set.

“You ready to watch me fail horribly at school?” he asks, squatting down to cup the dog’s head in his hands, “I’m gonna be a mess and you gotta be there to remind me that I’m at least a stable mess, okay? It’s you and me pal.”

Wingus snorts. He chuckles, standing back up. 

 

It was around three in the afternoon when he finished unpacking completely. Deciding against the internet, he instead grabs Wingus’s leash, and the two go out to explore their new school.

Destiny I. College was a pretty good school despite how small the island was. They had a decent music program from what Riku had heard, and the campus was pretty at least. Plus, the hospital was twenty minutes away like his mom said, and the ocean was about an hour depending on traffic. Hopefully, he could get his driving license soon and take Wingus out more to the beach.

The campus was pretty big. Riku often relied on the mobile website to figure out where he was. Eventually though, he just went with the flow, going through each building and looking around. He eventually found where three out of the four classes he was taking would be located, until he stumbled upon the music room. It was surprisingly bigger than he initially thought, as he peeked in through the small window on the door, with a lot of instruments displayed here and there. He even saw a Baldwin grand piano, and wondered if he could sneak Sora in here one day.

" _If_ I even see him,” he mutters under his breath, “I highly doubt he’d want to either way if he--”

 

“If who?”

He jumps a bit, and whips around to face a man with piercing blue eyes staring right at him. He has a violin? Viola? Riku couldn’t tell right away, but he has the case for either or strapped to his back. He watches Riku for a bit, before looking down at Wingus and saying, “Nice dog.”

“Oh, uh, thanks?” Riku replies, “Sorry, am I in your way?”

“Kinda. I was gonna practice in there.”

Riku sheepishly steps aside, but the man continues to stand in place, watching Riku. Eventually, the poor man can’t take his stare any longer as he musters his voice out to say, “Can I help you?”

“Are you going to leave, or do you plan on sticking around?”

“Oh, uh, I can leave if you want--”

“I don’t care, I just want to know.”

Riku looks into the room, and sighs as he says, “Would it be alright if I stayed?”

“Sure. Come on in.”

 

The man takes a key out and unlocks the door, heading inside and getting settled off to the side. Riku follows, looking around in awe. This was the first proper music room he’d been in after all, it was quite the sight for him.

“The name’s Roxas,” the man suddenly says, as Riku turns to watch him setup, “You?”

“Riku, and my dog’s name is Wingus.”

“Wingus?”

“I was little.”

Roxas snorts, as he takes out a beautifully crafted viola, “So do you play?”

“What?”

“Well, either you’re interested in music, or you play, so…?”

“Oh, uh, I used to play the violin. But that was a good ten years ago.”

“Huh, so, what, you wanna get back into it or something?”

“I… I dunno. It’s a bit complicated.”

“We got a decent music group that meets every Tuesday and Thursday. Most of us play string instruments, but we got some brass and percussion. If you want, you can come to our meeting, see what we do. Even if it’s been ten years, I’m sure you can get back into it with the right help.”

“I uh, I dunno--”

“It’s an invitation, if you don’t want to come you don’t gotta. We’re pretty small to begin with, not a lot of people. And we’re pretty dog friendly.”

Wingus snorts in reply, and Roxas chuckles. Riku can’t help but smile as well, glad there wasn’t any pressure to show up. Not that he wouldn’t dwell on the idea for the next few days, debating on going or not. Nope, anxiety sure wasn’t gonna kick his ass for a while.

 

“I’ll think about it,” he finally says, “Thanks.”

Roxas only smiles, and begins to tune his viola. Riku takes that as his cue to look around more, as he examines the books of sheet music in the room, the various instruments they had on display, and eventually, the piano. He glides his hands gently over the keys, careful not to press down and startle Roxas. He wondered how it would sound if Sora played it, and if the instrument would sing under his hands.

“I’m gonna play now,” Roxas calls, “Wanna be my judge?”

“A-are you sure?” Riku walks over, grabbing a seat to sit near Roxas, “I’m not a viola player, so I’m not sure how good of a judge I’d be.”

“If I wanted proper critique, I wouldn’t call you over. Besides, I’m sure you can at least tell if I played some sour note of something. It’s Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata, you know it?”

“No, sadly. But I’ll tell you if something feels off.”

 

Roxas grins, as he stands, and positions himself. Taking a deep breath in, he draws his bow down, making a grand gesture out of the first few notes, drawing Riku in. Following with very elegant playing, Roxas makes the viola sing under his hand; his vibrato, crescendos, everything was telegraphed perfectly, heightening the piece. It was quite moving, feeling somewhat mystical even. Riku could tell Roxas devoted a lot of time to piece, as each draw of the bow was done passionately. He eventually got a bit jealous as well, wishing he too could play his violin like so.

When Roxas finished, Riku couldn’t help but clap. The man huffed out some air, before grinning once more at Riku and asking, “So? What’s the score, Mr. Judge?”

“It sounded great. I didn’t hear any sour notes or anything that would say otherwise, but that’s coming from previous experience.”

“Ha, really? I messed up here and there, but if you didn’t feel anything wrong then I guess I played it off well. Not that the judges will overlook them, but, whatever.”

“Are you competing?”

“Maybe, me and my partner are still figuring out a piece to play, since we have until the end of fall and then next spring.”

“What do they play?” 

“Piano, but she mainly plays the oboe. She’s pretty good though, even though she started maybe two years ago?”

Riku hums in response, before saying, “Well, I wish you luck with whatever you decide on.”

“Hey, thanks! If you join our merry band, you’ll get to meet her, her name is Xion, she’s pretty chill. I think you’d like her.”

Riku can only smile. Soon, the two chat simple things such as what classes they’re taking, what pieces they enjoy, and Roxas even mentions how Riku can come in here anytime he wants as he hands him a spare key to the classroom. They eventually part ways, as Riku realizes it’s almost six. The two exchange numbers, as Roxas points out they have the same professor for math, and part ways.

 

Riku was pretty proud of himself when he got home. He already made a friend in this school, so that meant with Kairi, he had two whole friends. He wasn’t sure if he could really count Sora, but dismissing the thought quickly, he instead texts his mom how he’s fine, and that he took his medication. He quickly gets back a wall of text from his mother, and not having the energy to read it, simply sets his phone down and lays in bed.

If only Sora could see him now.

* * *

 

“So, question,” Kairi begins, as she hands Riku his frappuccino, “Do you like, like Sora still?”

“Yes?” Riku stares at her curiously, “I still like him, I just feel like he deserves a proper apology if I see him so I’m trying to figure that out… didn’t we talk about this yesterday?”

“No, not like as in, friends, but do you still like-like Sora?”

Riku almost chokes on his drink, carefully avoiding the crisis but remaining calm as he swallowed. Kairi snorts.

“I’m taking that as a yes,” she says, and Riku groans, “What? It’s cute.”

“It’s dumb,” he grumbles, “We haven’t seen each other in ten years and I still think about him. I should’ve moved on by now.”

“The heart knows what it wants,” she giggles, “And yours apparently hasn’t changed at all.”

“You knew?”

“Uh, you were kinda obvious with how you fawned over him and were super protective of him? I think everyone knew, Riku.”

He groans again, and Kairi laughs, “But hey, I don’t think Sora picked up! He’s a bit oblivious… okay, no, he’s super oblivious.”

“I know, but that’s for the better.”

“Is it though? I dunno, I just feel like you two would be good for each other.”

“After what happened? I’d be happy if he even wanted to talk to me.”

“Did the whole ‘he asks about you whenever I wrote to you’ bit I said yesterday just fly over your head?”

“No, I just refuse to believe it.”

 

She now sighs, and takes a sip of her tea. The two continue to walk to their first class, English, which Riku was grateful they were both in. He was anxious about classes in general, especially after being homeschooled for so long. Having a familiar face helped.

“Oh, y’know who texted me?” Kairi begins, and when Riku looks down at her, she beams, “Your new friend, Roxas! He’s in the group I’m in, plays the viola. He told me he met you yesterday in the music room.

Riku doesn’t know how he didn’t put two and two together when Roxas mentioned his group, but he happily says, “Oh! I didn’t know you two knew each other.”

“Not super well, but he’s a pretty chill guy. Pretty passionate about his viola.”

“Why did he--”

“Text me? I’m kind of the manager for our group, since I joined before the semester started, and he mentioned how he found someone who could potentially join. When he said your name, I jumped on him and asked for all the details. Are you coming to the meeting of Tuesday?”

“Kairi, I don’t--”

“I mean, no pressure but you should. You can make some friends! I know you don’t hate listening to music, and we’re pretty good. You don’t have to play, you just--”

“Kai,” Riku begins, putting a hand on her shoulder, “Maybe. I’m still thinking about it.”

“Oh, well, it’s at five thirty in the evening. I hope you come!"

 

Riku simply smiles, and the two head to class. Their teacher is a sweet lady, going over everything needed for the class, as well as her expectations. She also assigned an essay (much to Kairi’s lament) due by the end of the week, an informative essay about something the student enjoyed. Riku looked forward to it, oddly enough. It felt nice to have a proper homework assignment.

“I’m gonna die,” Kairi groans as they exit the class, “I hate essays.”

“I can help you, if you want?”

“ _ Please _ . Sora and I always struggled without you. You’re like, the word master.”

Riku chuckles, and the two part ways. Kairi’s next class was art (all her classes were on the same day) so Riku decided to explore the now bustling campus. Now filled with life, he appreciated how loud it was, the chattering and yelling comforting for once. Nobody bothered him though, thank god, especially since his major concern was people maybe bothering Wingus. The dog had been quiet all day, attached to Riku’s leg almost, and hadn’t drawn any if at all attention to himself. As it should be, but Riku was a worrywart. He didn’t want anyone to pet Wingus after all...

 

He checks the time. He’d have to take medication soon, but in the meantime, he continued to roam around, taking in the scene. He eventually found himself back at the music room, luckily empty. Remembering the spare key he got from Roxas, he anxiously enters, shutting the door behind him carefully.

Why was he here? He didn’t really know. But he may as well make most of it. He takes a book out from the shelf, and begins to browse through the many pieces in it. Eventually, he stops at a specific piece, Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto no. 1 in G minor. The notes captivated him, and he couldn’t help but wonder how it would sound if  _ he  _ played it. 

There  _ were  _ spare violins around…

 

He shakes his head, sighing. He hadn’t played properly in ten years, maybe dabbing in the craft every so often. He shouldn’t try. He shouldn’t  _ push  _ himself to try.

He’s already grabbing the violin. This was a mistake, an awful, horrible mistake, he was going to get caught, and he was going to get in trouble, so, so much trouble. It was going to sound awful, it was going to be a mess, and…

“Instead of thinking of the what if’s,” he murmurs aloud, “Why not just do it?”

He takes the violin out, tunes it the best he can with an app (which was awful), and prepares himself for the worst mistake ever.

 

He stares at the sheet. It stares back, taunting him. So he takes a deep breath, and draws his bow. The first note is long, as he add a vibrato to allow it to reverberate throughout the room. He follows by playing the next few notes, allowing the bow to glide over the strings, producing a loud, yet soft series of notes. He cringes a little at the higher ones, but during the rest, he composes himself to continue.

When he plays again, he’s careful not to play a sour note on the higher strings, allow the piece to sing as best as he can with his rusty skills. He’s taking the piece a bit slower than it should be, but it’s his first time properly playing in ten years. He should be allowed to cheat a little.

He just had to pick the piece with a lot of high notes though, didn’t he. He produced an occasional sour note, making a mental note where, but all in all, he knew that he should’ve picked something a bit simpler, easier. But, he knew if he did, Sora would’ve been disappointed. He knew Sora always wanted him to push himself, to try bigger things because he was, in Sora’s eyes, the best violinist in the world. 

He really wished he felt like that right now. Instead, he was cringing at those sour notes, frustrated how it didn’t sound perfect. It didn’t sing correctly.

He only gotten the first movement done before stopping. There had been plenty of mistakes that he knew would only continue, so it was better to go back and work on what had been wrong. He grabs some post it notes from his bag, and begins to write, wanting to mark each spot he messed up so he could better himself.

 

But fate had other plans.

 

“That sounded amazing!” he hears, as the door is thrown open, “I haven’t heard anything like that before, are you a student here? My name’s Sora, I’m trying to find out about--”

His bright blue eyes hadn’t changed. That messy, warm brown hair was still as messy, and his face was littered with even more freckles. Riku’s heart stopped.

The two could only stare at each other in stunned silence. Riku’s grasp on the violin is so painfully tight, and he can feel the E String wanted to cut into his palm. Sora smile slowly fades, as he stares at Riku in awe, disbelief almost.

 

“Riku?” he asks, and Riku awakens from his daze. He quickly turns around and begins to pack the violin away, only to hear footsteps approaching and Sora going, “Wait, Riku, hold on, is that you? Riku, it’s me, Sora--!!”

When Riku feels his hand on his elbow, he whips around, causing Sora to take a step back. His heart pounding in his chest, not even the roar of the ocean could drown this out.

“Y-Your hair’s a lot longer now, huh?” Sora says with a sheepish smile, “You grew it out?”

“I… I uh…” 

The words die in his throat, as he only looks down at the ground, not sure what to do.

“I didn’t know you were here! I… I didn’t even know you got discharged.”

“Just a few days ago,” he finally can say, “It… I had to figure out everything in a short amount of time, and I--”

“You’re here.”

 

Riku looks at Sora, confused, only to feel his heart clench when he sees the other tearing up.

“You’re really here,” Sora murmurs, as his hand reaches out to grab Riku’s hand, “You’re here! You’re back home, right?”

“F-For now. It depends on how my health keeps up.”

Tears roll down Sora’s eyes, as the man smiles brightly up at Riku, “Welcome home."

Riku is stunned. His heart hurts, he can’t breathe (and how he hopes it isn’t because of his bronchiectasis), and he feels lost. He didn’t expect this, he never planned for his. And yet, this felt right. This was how things should be. It confused him but it also relieved him... How funny.

“I…” he begins, before smiling softly, “C’mon Sora, pull yourself together.”

That breaks the silence, as Sora breathes in a soft sob, and says, “I-I can’t help it! It’s been ten years, I missed you, I wanted to see you but I knew I couldn’t and I was too embarrassed to write, and I… I…!"

His grip on Riku’s hand tightens as he just cries before the other, and Riku can’t help but chuckle a bit as he says, “I’m home. I’m here, Sora.”

“Don’t act like you’re so suave!” Sora cries, “Acting calm and cool cause you’re not a crybaby like me! I was so worried, I never heard from you and I didn’t know how to approach you cause, cause I wanted to apologize, but I also didn’t want you to get mad at me again, and I--”

“Breathe,” Riku says, “I’m not going anywhere for now. C’mon, pull yourself together.”

Sora just sobs, and Riku sighs. He at least expected this. Sora had always been somewhat of a crybaby, a sensitive kid with a big heart. Too big, in Riku’s opinion, but that was just part of the charm in the end.

 

“You haven’t changed one bit,” Riku says, “And here Kairi was boasting about how everyone had changed.”

“You met Kairi?”

“Uh, yeah, she’s in my English class…” 

It wasn’t technically a lie, but he wasn’t going to tell Sora he went to Kairi first when he got discharged. 

“Oh!! That’s right, she goes here too huh? I was so busy with my part time job over the summer I forgot to ask what classes she took… that’s good then!! I’m glad you were able to see her too, ha, did she cry?”

“Uh… no. She punched me in the arm.”

Sora laughs through his tears, “Yeah, that sounds like her. So, you still play the violin? Wait, was that you earlier?! Riku, was it--”

“I just picked it up after ten years of not properly playing it. It was rough, really rough, it didn’t sound right and I didn’t hit the high notes--”

“But it  _ was  _ you right? You played just now?!"

“Y-Yes. But Sora, I--”

“You were amazing!! You’re  _ still  _ amazing I should say, the best violinist ever!! Riku, you have to join this after school group, Kairi’s the manager, and I’m gonna go and it’s--”

“I already know about it, so, yeah. I may come to that meeting--”

“That’s great!!” Sora is literally bouncing as he continues, “Oh, I’m so excited to hear you play again!! You were so cool and I kept practicing piano cause I wanted you to be proud of me if you ever come back, and I--”

 

Riku felt bad that he kept cutting Sora off, but to be fair, so did the other, so he says, “You still play piano?”

“Uh, of course I do! After all, my dream hasn’t changed.”

Riku’s heart stops again, “Y-your dream?”

“I… It’s embarrassing, but I still want to play with  _ you,  _ Riku. I still want that dream. It-it’s selfish, I know, you told me that you weren’t going to be the same, but I… I still want that. And, I say my dream, but I know it was  _ our  _ dream before, but I don’t know if that’s the same for you and I don’t want you to be upset, especially cause you’re sick with…”

The words fade out as that day replays in Riku’s head, where he unfairly, cruely lashed out at Sora for begging him to not give up on their dream. Tears flowing from both their eyes, as Riku broke his own heart in an furious rage against the world, knowing he was breaking Sora’s.

So to hear this, to hear that Sora truly hadn’t changed… it was his turn to cry.

 

“O-Oh no!!” he hears, “Oh, don’t cry Riku, oh no, I’m sorry, please don’t be mad--”

“Mad?” Riku says through his own tears now, “Why would I be mad? I… I thought you gave up on that dream because of me, I thought you hated me and never wanted to play with me again. I… when I could, I tried to play but it wasn’t the same. I hated the violin because I hurt you over it, I was mad I couldn’t play and I took it out on you. I should… I should’ve apologized.”

“No! No, Riku, I was wrong, I didn’t realize what you were going through and hurt you with my own selfish wishes! You weren’t giving up on violin, and I should’ve realized that, you couldn’t help it--”

“But it was still wrong. I said hurtful, awful things to you, and all this time I regretted it, but never knew how to apologize. I ended up just running away from you, and I--”

He’s stopped when Sora pulls him into a tight hug. He’s stunned for a moment, unable to act, his cheeks becoming very hot as he looks down, and feel Sora’s face against him. He slowly puts his hand on the other’s back though, and Sora sobs into his chest.

“I missed you,” he hears, “I missed you so much.”

Riku can’t help but hug Sora tighter now, as he murmurs, “I missed you too.”

 

Summer was a cruel season. It often harmed everyone it touched; burning them, blinding them. It was a slow, yet passionate season; a season of beginnings and farewells.

This was just the beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> hello, my name is mars! this is my first ever fic for soriku, which is odd because this is my longtime forever ship? lol anyways, i hope you enjoyed! i had this idea in my head for a while, and i finally mustered up the college to do so! i just hope i did gang justice, lol... i dunno how many chapters there'll be, but just know we're all in for a wild ride! whoo!!
> 
> also, wingus the german shepard is based off wingus the komory bat, ala the soriku server i'm in. kudos to them for the name!! lolol   
> \--- --- ---   
> contact me at oceanicmars.tumblr.com! <3


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